


Six Feet Under the Stars

by gerardwayh8r (orphan_account)



Category: All Time Low
Genre: AU, Boarding School, Fluff, High School, Jalex - Freeform, M/M, teen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-03
Updated: 2014-01-31
Packaged: 2018-01-03 07:50:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1067905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/gerardwayh8r
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Alex is forced to go to a Catholic boarding school after coming out to his parents as gay, he is sure he is in for the worst time of his life. Little does he know, he's going to meet someone there who's going to turn his whole world upside down.<br/>*HS AU JALEX*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**_Prologue_**  

 

Alex sighed heavily, glaring out the car window at the rain that was falling down around them, headphones jammed in his ears, bleeding out Blink-182, pointedly refusing to look at his mother who was seated at the steering wheel beside him. It was her fault he was in this mess in the first place, being forced to pack up his life and leave all his friends behind to go to some rich, Catholic boarding school in the middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire. All because his bigoted parents just couldn't accept the fact that he was gay, and had decided forcing God down his throat was the best solution.

 

Alex could tell his mom wanted to say something since out of the corner of his eye he could see her continually glancing at him apprehensively. Instead of acknowledging her presence, Alex just shifted further in his seat so his back was completely towards her and turned the volume on his iPod up loud enough that he was sure she could hear it too. This suspicion was confirmed when he saw his mom huff and turn firmly towards the road. Alex allowed himself to smile slightly to himself, and let his eyes drift closed, feeling himself get lost in the movement of the car and the feel of the music.

 

After about four hours of drifting in and out of conciousness and one quick pitstop to use the bathroom, Alex's mom pulled into the long, winding drive of Saint Ferdinand's College Prepatory School. She tapped her son's shoulder lightly, causing the teen to stir and sit up, blinking blearily. "We're here, Alex," she said emotionlessly, still staring straight ahead.

 

"You finally get to get rid of me then," Alex spat out bitterly, not looking at his mom. 

 

Mrs. Gaskarth sighed tiredly and said, "Alex, me and your father still love you. You are still our son, that much hasn't changed. However, we cannot, in good conscience, accept this...lifestyle you have decided to adopt. I know right now you probably hate us, but in a few years, when you've gotten past this, you'll understand, and you might even thank us."

 

Alex did turn around at that, fire in his eyes. "You say that as though I have a fucking choice in this!" he yelled, relishing in the way his mother flinched at his language, "You say that like I chose to like boys instead of girls, like this is something I can change at the flick of a switch! Well, I'm sorry to be the one to break this to you, but that is not how this shit works. There's no changing this, and this stupid fucking boarding school isn't gonna help."

 

Alex's mom discreetly wiped away the tear that had found it's way onto her cheek at her son's harsh words, and choked out, "Get your things out of the trunk, Alex. Its time to go."

 

Alex grunted in response, getting out of the car as ungracefully as possible, slamming the door behind him as he went. He tugged his bags out of the back of the car with little effort, he hadn't exactly had much to bring with him since his parents had decided to take away his laptop and CDs. He was just grateful they had let him keep his phone. Really, the only thing besides clothes and school supplies he had brought with him was his beloved, beaten up acoustic guitar he had affectionately named Wendy.

 

Alex heard his mom get out of the car, and quickly gathered up his bags with a muttered, "I got it," before she got a chance to take any. Then he turned to face the building where he was going to spend the next nine months of his life at least. 

 

Saint Ferdinand's main school building, the structure Alex was now facing, was a steely looking building, all cold, brick walls and shuttered windows. Still, it was definitely an expensive place, with its grand oak doors and sweeping stair case to the front entrance. But it wasn't exactly inviting, especially not with the cold, New England drizzle coating everything. With a heaving sigh, Alex trudged up the stairs, mom close behind, and walked into what he thought would be the worst part of his life.


	2. First Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, maybe this school won't be as bad as Alex had thought...

Walking into the school, Alex and his mom were immediately with a garish yellow and green (the school colors) banner reading "Welcome New Students!", which was obviously made several years earlier.  
  
"Welcome!" they heard an overly peppy, middle aged woman call from a fold-out card table in front of them, with a sign taped to it saying 'Student Check-In/Registration'. Alex saw his mom plaster on her signature 'Life is great!' smile, the one she had learned through years of praticing real estate. He had always hated it, almost as much as he hated overly peppy people.  
  
"Hi," Mrs. Gaskarth said, sticking her hand out, which the other woman, whose name tag identified as 'Carol', shook enthusiastically, "I'm Isobel Gaskarth, and this is my son Alex." She looked at Alex then, with a face that obviously said, "Be polite, or I will make your life even worse than you already think it is."  
  
"Hi," Alex mumbled, not bothering to mask his unhappiness, not even looking up at Carol, instead opting to hide behind his fringe.  
  
Carol looked confused for a split second before reverting back to her helpful, happy, excited to be here administrator mode. Looking down at her list, she quickly scanned it and found Alex's name. "Oh, you're our new tenth grader," she said, still in that sickly sweet voice of hers, "You'll be staying in dorm 212 in building 2. Your roomate's name is Jack Barakat, he was here last year so he should be able to help you find your way around, if you need it."  
  
Alex had tuned out of the conversation by this point, vaguely aware his mother and the secretary were now discussing class schedules and school policies. He couldn't believe this was now his life. Just three weeks before, he was at his best friend, Rian's, house, planning out the band they were going to start together. That day, he had told Rian he was gay, because he just couldn't keep lying to his best friend like he was. Rian, of course, was perfectly accepting, and that gave Alex hope his parents would be the same way. So that night, he had told them, and needless to say, it didn't go over to well. His dad had screamed, his mother had cried, everyone had prayed, and now here he was. At a Catholic boarding school, the exact kind of place that he hated.  
  
Alex was jarred out of his moody thoughts by his mother and Carol corralling him out of the main building and towards the dorms. He was brought to the second building, and then was led up a set of stairs, still lugging all of his bags with him. Eventually he wound up outside a door labeled '212', then had a key shoved in his hand by Carol, with a cheerily said, "Make sure not to lose this."  
  
Alex held back another sigh as he inserted the key into the lock and turned it, then pushed the door open, revealing the empty room. There was a window in the white-washed wall opposite the door, industrial-looking fluorescent lights in the ceiling, a set of bunk beds were pushed against the left wall with two identical, wooden desks opposite them, and a set of wooden drawers on either side of the door. Judging by the bareness of the beds, it was obvious Alex's roommate hadn't arrived yet.  
  
Alex mechanically walked into the room, dumped all of his stuff on the bottom bunk, and robotically turned around to hug his mother, not putting any warmth into the embrace. "Have a great year," he heard her say into his ear. He scoffed quietly, because really, how likely was that, and she must have heard because when she pulled back, she had a steely expression planted on her face.  
  
The still smiling Carol, oblivious to the tension in the room, said, "Okay, I'll leave your class schedule and a map of campus and the school building on the desk here, and show your mother out. You get settled in, there's going to be a school wide assembly at five and then dinner at six."  
  
With one last emotionless pat on the shoulder, Mrs. Gaskarth and Carol exited the room, leaving Alex with just his suitcase and his thoughts. Deciding that if he was gonna have to sleep here, the mattress should really have some sheets on it, Alex set to making his bed, which he soon realized was a much tougher task than he had anticipated.  
  
"You stupid cock-sucking, shit eating motherfucker!" Alex yelled the third time the fitted sheet came off the first half of the bed, "I will kill you and your entire fucking family, you worthless piece of sh-"  
  
Alex's tirade was abruptly interrupted by the door opening and a raven haired head poked around the door. "Um..." the boy said apprehensively, "Is everything okay in here?"  
  
Alex's head immediately whipped around towards the door, face flushing with embarrassment at having been caught arguing with a sheet. "Yeah," he muttered looking down, "Just having some trouble with my bedding."  
  
He heard the other boy laugh as he opened the door wider and walked into the room. "Don't worry about it," he said smiling, putting his bags down, "I fucking hate those things."  
  
Alex smiled a little and looked up at the boy standing across the room from him, and said, "I'm guessing you're Jack then."  
  
"Yep," the teen, apparently Jack answered, said, "And that must make you Alex."  
  
"I guess it does," Alex sighed, turning back to trying to make his goddamn bed.  
  
Jack watched Alex continue to struggle for a minute or two, before saying, "Would you like some help with that?"  
  
Alex turned around again, nodding gratefully, "Please. I have no idea how to do this shit."  
  
Jack laughed again, and walked over, grabbing one end of the sheet. "Grab the other end," he instructed, pulling his end over the end of the bed opposite the door, while Alex did the same thing with his end, snapping the sheet into place.  
  
"Thanks man," Alex said, moving to sit on the newly covered bed, "I've never made a bed before, so I was probably gonna be at it for another hour if it wasn't for you."  
  
"Not a problem man," Jack said, sitting down next to Alex. "So why're you here? You don't exactly look like a good, Catholic kid to me," he continued, looking Alex up and down, taking in his long, scruffy dirty blonde hair that hid his hazel eyes, Green Day shirt, skinny jeans, and beat up red Converse high tops.  
  
"Parents think God will make me straight," Alex responded, then glanced concernedly at the other teen, "You don't have a problem with that kind of thing, right?"  
  
Jack chuckled lightly and shook his head, "Nah man, that kind of religious hate is bullshit if you ask me."  
  
"Good," Alex sighed, relieved. "So, why are  _you_  in here?" he asked, "You don't exactly look very holy yourself." He glanced over at the other boy, surveying his black and blonde dyed hair, his Blink-182 shirt (at least he had good taste in music), his baggy jeans, and his black Vans.  
  
"I'm just here cause it's better than being at home," Jack replied, flopping back on the bed and turning his head to the side. That's when he saw Wendy propped against the wall next to the bed.  
  
"Dude!" Jack exclaimed, getting up and walking over to the guitar, "You play guitar?"  
  
Alex nodded and responded, "Yeah. I'm not very good, but I can do a few Blink and Sublime songs. Me and my friend were actually about to start a band when I got sent out here."  
  
"That's sick man," Jack said, a little wistful, "I've always wanted to learn, but I could never afford to buy a guitar, and even if I could, my mom always says that rock is a sin and all that bullcrap."  
  
Alex looked over at Jack and saw the longing look on the his face, an instinctively offered, "I could teach you sometime if you want. It's actually pretty easy once you get started."  
  
Jack turned to Alex, a grin splitting his face in two. "Oh my god, you're awesome dude!" he exclaimed, before tackling the blonde in a hug.  
  
Alex laughed, before shoving the other boy off of him. "It's seriously no problem," he said, still smiling, "No need to kill me over it man."  
  
Jack sat up, and said, slightly breathlessly, "Sorry dude. Guess I forgot to tell you I don't really understand personal boundaries."  
  
Alex just shook his head and looked up at Jack, saying, "I think you're gonna be a pretty awesome roommate man."  
  
Jack just smiled and said, "I was about to say the same thing about you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And boom. First chapter done way before I anticipated. I was gonna make it longer, but I really wanted to post something, and this also means that I'll be able to write the next chapter quicker since I already have it mostly planned out. So stay tuned for updates! :)  
> xokc


	3. Dammit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friendships form quickly when you both like the same music.

Alex had just finished unpacking all of his clothes, and was now examining the school uniform he was expected to wear during class hours. "How do you survive in this thing?" he asked Jack, not looking away from the white, button-up dress shirt, black neck tie, and pleated black formal pants.

"I don't know," Jack sighed, looking down at the stack of uniforms he had laid out in front of him, "I'm just grateful they don't make us wear the goddamn jacket in the hot months. I think that would actually be classified as child cruelty."

Alex nodded, and then turned to look at Jack, leaning against the set of drawers he was standing next to. "So," he began, "Do you have any other friends here? I'm just wondering why you've been choosing to hang out with the new kid all day."

"Yeah, I guess," Jack shrugged, looking towards the floor, "I mean, there are some cool kids here that I eat lunch with and hang out with when I get bored, and they're pretty awesome dudes, but it's not like we're super close or anything. And pretty much everyone else here are douche bags."

Alex nodded in understanding, knowing that feeling. He had plenty of 'friends' back home, but Rian was the only one he really cared about beyond "I guess I'd be kinda sad if you died." "Still," he responded, "That doesn't answer the question as to why you're hanging out with me."

Jack smiled and looked up at Alex, saying, "Cause you're interesting. Anything new is interesting."

Alex put on a face of mock hurt, and putting a hand on his forehead in true soap opera fashion, dramatically exclaimed, "Just what I thought! You only want me because I'm an oddity. I thought you loved me Jacky!"

Jack immediately started playing along, putting one hand over his heart with the other outstretched towards Alex and responded in a voice of mock concern, "No Lexi! Of course I love you! Your sister meant nothing to me!"

At that point, both boys burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. "We could totally start a soap opera man," Jack said between giggles, "We could call it, 'The Secret Life of Catholic School Boys'. It'd be a hit."

"I can just imagine," Alex responded, wiping a tear off his face, "Just think of all the old women creaming themselves over us."

Jack put on a face of disgust and replied, "Dude, not cool. You just put the worst image of my Nan in my head ever."

Alex's own face crinkled in revolt as he got his own particularly disturbing mental image. "Yeah dude," he sighed, shaking his head, "Forget I said anything. That shit is gross." He reached into his pocket for his phone then, pulling it out to glance at the time. The clock on the LCD screen read "3:30", which Alex figured gave him enough time before the five o'clock assembly to learn 'Dammit' on guitar.

Alex walked over to his bed and pulled Wendy onto his lap, digging the pick he always kept with him out of his pocket. As he coaxed the first few chords that he already knew out of the guitar's old body, he felt eyes on him. Looking up, he found Jack standing at his desk, staring at him wide-eyed.

When Jack realized he had been caught staring at his new roommate, he blushed and hid behind his fringe. "Sorry," he muttered, "I've just never seen someone play guitar in person before."

"It's okay man," Alex said, smiling gently at Jack's enthusiasm, "I remember the first time I saw someone play live. I was like five, and my dad had brought me to some music shop to get me a piano. I saw this long long haired, 80s metal band looking dude hammering on a guitar, and I swear, it was like a religious experience or some shit like that. I sat there watching him the entire time we were there, and that Christmas I begged and begged for a guitar. Didn't wind up getting it until last year, but hey, what are you gonna do."

The corners of Jack's mouth turned up at that, and a little less uncomfortably, he responded, "Well, don't let my creepiness stop you. Keep going, you sound good." He turned back around to his desk to finish putting away the school supplies he had pulled out of his bag.

Alex looked back down at his guitar and lined his hands back up. He leaned over to where he had set his phone down and started laying 'Dammit', listening carefully to the chords, trying to imitate them on his own guitar. He managed to get through the first verse pretty easily, but the chorus hit with an array of wrong notes and a string of muttered 'shit's and 'fuck's. Finally, after trying four times, Alex turned the music off and just started playing through 'Josie'. Singing along as he played, he started, "My girlfriend takes me home when I'm too drunk to drive..."

As he continued, Alex became aware that Jack was staring at him again, but didn't say anything this time. He actually found it kind of adorable in a way, the teen's unadulterated wonderment at music.

Jack stood watching Alex play, once again distracted from trying to unpack, when an unexpected thought entered his brain: "He's beautiful." Jack immediately pushed that out of his head, because fuck no, he was not about to start thinking about his roommate like that. End well, it would not. Shaking his head, Jack turned back around, digging through one of his bags to pull out the posters he had brought with him, and started to hang them on the wall above his desk.

Alex strummed out the final notes of the song, and then looked up at the the wall Jack was currently covering with Blink-182, Sum 41, Jimmy Eat World, and New Found Glory. "Dude," he said, getting up and walking over to Jack, "Those are awesome. We're gonna have the best decorated in this place."

"We fucking better," Jack said in a playful tone, "Zack is always bragging about how great his room is, and I wanna shut him up this year."

"Who's that?" Alex said teasingly, nudging Jack in the side with his elbow, a smirk gracing his face, "Your boyfriend?"

Jack laughed at that before responding, "Hahaha, no. Zack is so fucking straight it's ridiculous. Whenever they let us out of here on weekends, he always manages to sneak into the all girls school in the next town, and I swear to you he's banged every single chick in that place. Don't ask me how, but he's got the underwear to prove it."

"So, we know I'm gay, whoever Zack is, he's straight," Alex began, "What about you, Mr. Mysterious? Do you like dicks or chicks?"

Jack just shook his head and replied, "I'd classify myself as a hormone driven teenage boy, who's way too horny and sexually confused for his own good. So, basically, I got no fucking idea."

Alex just shrugged and said, "I can respect that."

Jack glanced at the clock he had set up on the shelf above his desk, and noticed it said '4:30'. "Shit man," he said, turning towards Alex, "We better get ready for the assembly. We gotta change into our uniforms. I mean, normally I wouldn't care, but if we miss the very first assembly, Rags will have both of our heads." When Alex looked confused, he elaborated, saying, "Mr. Ragini, the Dean."

Alex nodded, and scooped up the uniform that was still laying on top of his dresser. Then he looked around and asked, "Where do we change? No offense, but I just met you, so you don't really need to see me naked yet."

"There's a bathroom down the hall," Jack replied, going into a drawer for his own uniform, "You can use a stall in there. I'm gonna change in here, so knock before you come in."

Alex nodded, and headed out of the room and towards the direction Jack had pointed. Meanwhile thoughts were racing through his head, most of them about Jack. Maybe it was just Alex's own hopeless romantic tendencies, but he was finding himself developing a small crush on Jack. Alex shook that out of his brain for now, because he was not about to fuck up this new found friendship because of something as silly and trivial as a crush, puppy love at most. He figured it would wear off soon enough, things like this almost always did, and even if it didn't he'd find a way to deal with it. He had always been good at hiding things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is a little bit shit, I know. I probably should rewrite but a) I'm too lazy and b) I have homework I really should be doing (who am I kidding, I'm never going to do that crap). So, I promise to try to make the next chapter better than this.  
> xokc


	4. Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet some new friends, receive a few wise words.

At quarter to five, Alex and Jack left the dorm building in full uniform, walking down the damp path. As they walked, a boy with longish brown hair came out of Building One. Spotting Jack, he started walking towards them, waving and calling, "Yo, Barakat!"

Jack turned towards the sound and shouted back, "Hey Zack!", waving the other teen over. When the boy - apparently Zack - got over to them, he immediately bear hugged Jack.

"Been too long dude," Zack said, pulling back. Now turning back to look at Alex, he asked, "Now, who's this?"

"Zack, this is my room mate Alex," Jack replied, gesturing vaguely between the two teens, "He's new this year, so try not to give him too much shit, kay?"

Zack rolled his eyes and responded, "Me give someone shit? Unheard of." He turned back to Alex again and pulled the blonde into a hug saying, "It's great to meet you man."

Alex pulled back smiling and said, "What is it with people and personal space here?"

"Get used to it dude," Zack said smirking, "Everyone worth while here is way too comfortable with each other."

As they started walking towards the school, Jack asked Zack, "So what's you do over the summer?"

Zack shrugged and said, "Nothing much. Went to Disney World for a week, but that was pretty much it. Rest of the summer was mostly easting, sleeping, and getting wasted at rich kids' parties. How about you? What kind of shenanigans did Mr. Barakat get into?"

Jack seemed to be embarrassed by the question, stuffing his hands into his pockets and directing his gaze tot eh ground. "Not really anything," he muttered, not elaborating any further.

Alex shot Zack a confused look, hoping for an explanation, but Zack just shrugged, and equally confused look on his own face. The little group continued to walk in slightly awkward silence until they reached the main building, which housed the auditorium. When they crossed the threshold, Jack finally looked up again, taking in the towering walls of expensive oak now surrounding them and the tall, spiral staircase in the center of the large entrance room. Jack just gestured to the left and said, "It's that way," which, honestly, hadn't been that hard to figure out anyway, at least going by the crush of students flooding the hallway off of that side of the room.

As they walked, Zack seemed to spot another familiar face in the crowd, since he yelled out, "Hey Robert!" and gestured for whoever he was talking to to come over to them.  
Alex watched as a brown haired head came bobbing towards them through the crowd, finally emerging in front of them as an average height teen, with brown eyes and a freckle spattered face. "Hi Zack," he said, a small, shy smile on his face.

When Jack shot Zack a questioning glance, Zack smiled and said, "You aren't the only who's been making new friends Barakat. Waving a hand towards the younger boy, he said, "This is Robert, but don't call him Bob. He's a freshman and, by some administration fuck up, my roommate, but he's cool, so I'm not gonna argue." Now talking to Robert, Zack continued, "This is my friend Jack and his roommate Alex, who I just met a few minutes ago."

"Hey," Robert said, looking a little wearily at the two older boys, obviously a little bit suspicious. Alex recognized the guarded expression as one he had worn himself many times before throughout his school career, and knew that this kid was one of the ones that didn't trust people. Alex respected that.

"Hi," Jack said, smiling, "You're lucky, kid. You got put with the best roommate on campus. Aside from me of course."

"I don't know man," Alex said, smirking, "I think Zack might be cooler than you."

Zack laughed and said, "Fuck yeah, man. You know I'm the coolest person in this damn place."

Glancing down at the watch on his wrist, Jack said, "Shit guys, we gotta get into the auditorium, we only got five more minutes." As they started walking again, Jack added, "And screw both of you. I'm the most awesome person you've ever met."

"Sure," Alex said, smiling and rolling his eyes. Looking over at Robert, he said, "Don't listen to him. I've only known him for four hours, and he's the weirdest motherfucker I've ever met," which earned him a tentative smile.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Walking back out of the auditorium after the hour long assembly, Alex sighed, running a hand through his already messy hair, saying, "That was literally the most boring thing I have ever sat through."

"Just wait until the prayer services man," Jack said, rolling his eyes, "I swear to god, after those, I want to murder Jesus. I don't really blame the Romans, honestly."

"Blasphemy!" Alex gasped with an expression of mock shock, "Young man, the Lord is watching you."

"Jesus forgive me for my sins!" Jack replied, before noticing a teacher walking in front of him glaring at them. Leaning over, he whispered in Alex's ear, "Looks like we've already managed to piss off Ms. Mackarail, and only about five hours in. I think we just set a record."

Alex laughed and held up a hand, which Jack willingly high-fived. Alex was beginning to feel like this would actually turn out being a good year.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Walking back into the dorm after consuming the barely edible food this school deemed fit to call dinner, Alex picked his phone up off his bed where he had left it to find a text message from Rian, reading, So, how'd your first day go?

Alex responded quickly, tapping out, Pretty good actually. My roommate's actually pretty awesome, but idk for sure yet I'll let you know after classes tomorrow just how much I hate this place

After a few seconds, Alex got a response back. I'm not being replaced am I? :P

Of course not. No one could ever replace my Rian-poo.

Ok dude, ixnay on icknamenay that shit's gross

I don't think that's how pig latin works, but w/e

Alex glanced back up from his phone as Jack walked into the room. "So," the brunette said, "What do you think of this place so far?"

Alex shrugged and said, "Not gonna lie, still not happy about being here, but it's definitely a lot better than I thought it would be, especially since you're here. But I don't know how tomorrow's gonna go. I'm not exactly that great with social interaction, and it's not exactly like I'm gonna have you and Zack to talk to all day."

Jack nodded and responded, "Yeah, I checked your schedule, and we don't even have a class together." Sighing, he continued, "Also, I'm kind of obligated to issue a warning: there are a lot of douche bags here, and they will probably mess with you, especially if they figure out you're gay, and more than likely, the teachers won't give a shit. If it gets bad, let me or Zack know, and we'll sort it out."

Alex just shook his head and said, "Jack, I've put up with that kind of shit my entire school life. I think I can handle a few Catholic guys. I'll be fine."

Jack still looked worried, but conceded anyway, saying, "Well, I just wanted to let you know. They can get pretty brutal sometimes."

"I can take care of myself," Alex assured Jack, and then said, "Well, I'm actually pretty tired, so I think I'm just gonna listen to music and try to fall asleep, if that's alright with you."

"Whatever you want man," Jack said, waving his hand in a dismissive manner, "I'm gonna go chill with Zack for a bit, actually. I'll try not to be too loud coming back."

"Bye," Alex replied, watching his new friend walk out of the room, flicking the light as he went. Smiling to himself, he fell asleep about an hour later listening to Blink-182. It was just that kind of day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was complete filler, so sorry about that. Next chapter is when shit actually starts to happen, so its gonna be a lot better I promise. This is mostly just for the sake of character introductions more than anything else.  
> xokc


	5. Back To School

The next day, Alex was awoken by the sound of Jack's alarm blaring out the local pop station, which, unfortunately, was the only one that came through. "Turn that shit off," Alex groaned, rolling onto his stomach and covering his head with his pillow in an attempt to block out the grating music.

Jack laughed at his roommate as he climbed off his bunk and strode over to the offending clock, turning it off. "Morning to you too, Sunshine," Jack said, smirking at the blonde whose face was still hidden underneath the pillow.

Alex flipped the other boy off, burrowing further into his sheets. His plan to be absorbed into the bed, however, was foiled when Jack came over and started trying to tear away his bedding. "Get up sleepy head," Jack said in a sing-song voice, "The world is waiting! There's people to see, places to go -"

"Roommates to murder," Alex muttered, finally rolling out of bed with a sigh of resignation.

"That's the spirit," Jack smiled as he grabbed his shower bag off his desk and pulled a towel out his only partially unpacked bag before walking out the door, calling over his shoulder, "I'm going to go cleanse myself."

"Have fun," Alex yelled back, slightly half-heartedly since he was still blearly from sleep.He got up off the floor (he had literally rolled out of bed) and went to go examine himself in the mirror. After scrutinizing his appearance for about one minute and giving himself a quick sniff check, trying to decide whether taking a shower would be worth the effort, he figured neither his hair or his body odor were bad enough to warrant one. Shrugging at his own laziness, he turned to go and change into his god awful uniform.

As Alex was tugging on his jacket (God, he already hated the thing), Jack returned from what was apparently the shortest shower ever, towel wrapped around his waist. "Whazzup, mah homeslice?" Alex said, throwing up a West side gang sign as he did so.

"Alex, you are so fucking white," Jack sighed, reaching into his drawers for a shirt and a pair of pants.

Alex laughed and turned around as Jack started getting dressed in his uniform. He walked over to his desk to puck up the class schedule he had been given the day before and sigh heavily, "I have no idea where any of these rooms are."

"Didn't they give you a map?" Jack asked from behind him.

"Yeah," Alex replied, "But I fucking hate those things. I always hold them the wrong way and end up getting lost worse than if I hadn't used it at all."

Suddenly, a (thankfully clothed) Jack was peering over Alex's shoulder and reaching around to tap the room number of Alex's first class, geometry. "That one's in the main building," Jack said, "I think we'll pass by the hall its in on the way way to breakfast. I'll point it out to you."

Alex nodded and then responded, "Thanks dude. Speaking of breakfast, let's go. I'm starving."

Jack chuckled and said, "You won't be once you see what they call eggs in there."

Alex just rolled his eyes in way of reply and walked out the door, knowing Jack would follow.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was eight a.m. and Alex was sitting in his first geometry of his sophomore year. His teacher, an approximately 110 year old guy with a voice like sandpaper and a name like Mr. Buchanan or something else just as pretentious, obviously never got the memo that you're not supposed to teach on the first actual day of school and was droning on about the area of triangles or something.Just as he was about to doze off, Alex felt something hit the back of his head, and reaching up to feel his hair, he found a crumpled up ball of loose leaf stuck there. Looking over his shoulder, Alex saw a group of jocks laughing as quietly as they could. Alex just rolled his eyes and turned back around, slumping further down in his seat.

Alex had learned many years before that fighting back against bullies never panned out in his favor, despite all the adults who told him to hold his ground. It always seemed that when he tried he would just end up laying on it. So he just tried not to let the very audible snickers of the teens behind him bother him and just not focus on anything. That had always been his favorite defense mechanism: ignoring everything.

Finally, the bell rang signalling the end of the period. Alex quickly picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulder, simultaneously glancing down at the schedule clutched in his hand and walking out of the classroom. He quickly realized that he had no idea where room "141 AB" was, and he was going to have a hell of a time figuring it out. "Shit," Alex muttered as he pulled out the map from his back pocket although he seriously doubted it would help. He saw a building labeled AB, and it seemed as though it was to the right of the building he was in so he decided to give it a shot.

He walked out the first door he could find and started walking along a path, glancing left and right for any sort of sign he was going in the right direction. They had ten minutes to pass between classes since it was the first day and the classrooms were so far apart, but Alex still wanted to find his as soon as possible. He always liked to be early.

As he was walking, Alex heard a large group of footsteps behind him. Figuring it was just a group of friends who happened to be walking in the same direction as him, he ignored it until he heard a voice call out, "Hey, fag!"

Alex sighed and turned around slowly, knowing that if he kept going they would only push him over. He didn't say anything though, he didn't want to say the wrong thing and end up with a black eye. Instead, he just raised his eyebrow in a questioning manner.

"Yeah you, faggot," said a large boy with a buzz cut and muscles that had definitely required steroids to achieve who was heading a brat pack of jocks, "You mute or something?"

Alex just shook his head, still reluctant to talk to the teen who didn't seem to have much of a vocabulary aside from insults.

"Well, I know you're new and you look pretty faggy, so I wanted to make sure you knew the rules around here," the boy, who still hadn't named himself, said, his beady eyes narrowing at Alex, "We don't put up with any queers around here. If we find out you're one, don't think we won't do something about it."

"I don't doubt it," Alex muttered, bending his head back over and sweeping his slight fringe back over his eye as he turned to walk away.

"What'd you say?" the teen spat at Alex, grabbing onto his shoulder with a meaty hand and spinning his back around.

"I said 'I don't doubt it'," Alex replied, trying to keep an innocent look on his face.

"That better be all you said," the hulking boy responded, squinting again before releasing Alex from his grip and turning around to walk the other way with his group of minions who gave him a round of high fives.

Alex waited until they walked out of earshot before muttering, "Fucking pricks," and then continuing on his his journey to his next class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry this piece of crud took so long to put out. I've just had a bout of writers block as of late, and I've been on a bit of a poetry kick. But I swear I'll be better at updating now.


	6. My Friends Over You

After religion class back in the main building and a few more insults hurled his way by what he had mentally termed the 'jock gang', Alex slumped to the cafeteria for lunch, hoping he had the same wave as Jack or Zack. Walking in, he glanced around hoping to see a familiar face, and smiled when he saw Jack waving manically in his direction from a mostly empty table. As he made his way over, Alex spotted Zack and the freshman, Robert, sitting at the table too.

Dropping his bag onto the floor, Alex flopped into the open seat next to Robert and across from Jack.

"How's your first day been going?" Jack asked, smirking a little bit, "Are you feeling the love of God yet?"

Alex scoffed and responded, "Yeah, being called a fag at least twenty times in three hours is just filling me up with love."

Jack smiled, a little sadly now, and shook his head, "I told you. Almost everyone here aside from us are massive douche bags." Looking across the cafe, Jack pointed and continued, "Except those two dudes," and then proceeded to wave manically again.

Alex looked over his shoulder at the two teens that were now making their way towards his table. They were both fairly short, one wearing a hat that was definitely against dress code and the other with some eyeliner smudged on his face which was definitely against every code.

"Jack!" the one with the eyeliner called as he got closer to the table, "How you been?"

"Pretty good," Jack responded, "How 'bout you Pete? How's the Wentz-man doing?"

The teen, apparently Pete, laughed and replied, "Pretty awesome actually. Me and Patty were about to go and get some food, but we'll be back over in a few."

Jack nodded as the two boys walked away towards the food line again, then turned towards Alex again to say, "That's Pete and Patrick. We call them Peterick since they're hardly ever apart. I don't get how they work, but they do. Pete's a bit obnoxious, but an awesome writer and Patrick's super shy, but a musical genius. They're both super cool once you get to know them."

Alex nodded an looked over at the line where Pete and Patrick were standing, Pete talking animatedly to one of the workers, Patrick standing off to the side looking mildly uncomfortable but like he was used to this sort of thing. He then looked to the end of the table where Robert and Zack were sitting, and saw that the two were having a pretty intense discussion about something.

"You're crazy, man," Zack said, shaking his head at the freshman, "Dude Ranch is superior to Enema in every way."

Robert rolled his eyes and replied, "You don't know what you're talking about. Both the production and musical quality on Enema is leagues ahead of anything else they had done." He spoke excitedly, but in timid sort of way, like he wasn't sure if what he was saying was interesting to anyone besides himself. Alex knew that feeling.

"But the rawness is what makes Dude Ranch so much better," Alex interjected, willing to get in on anything to do with Blink.

Zack nodded in agreement, saying, "Alex has got it right. Dude Ranch has a lot more guts to it. Enema is way too polished."

Robert just sighed and grumbled, "Fine. You can both be wrong then."

Alex's stomach grumbled then, and looking around he saw no one else had gotten food yet either. "Does anyone want to eat, or?" he asked, a little confused.

Jack shrugged and replied, "I could eat. Not sure if what we'll get could technically qualify as food but it's worth a shot."

Alex glanced over at Robert who quickly shook his head, and Zack was pulling some food out of his bag. In response to a quirked eyebrow from Alex, he said, "I sneak some food in at the beginning of every week. Like hell if I'm gonna eat this place's shit if I don't have to."

Alex just shrugged in response, and got up with Jack to go and get some chicken strips and a bottle of off-brand soda. By the time they sat back down, Pete and Patrick had made it back as well and Pete had joined the Blink debate, adamantly defending Enema.

Sitting down, Jack declared, "You're all wrong. Buddha is the best."

Zack groaned in response and chucked a potato chip at Jack's head, saying, "Oh my god, dude. That's like, the one album that everyone agrees sucks."

Jack grinned happily at his friend's apparent aggravation, and took a bite of one of his chicken strips, which immediately brought a grimace onto his face. "I fucking told you Alex," he said, swallowing the 'chicken' with exaggerated effort, "There is no way this shit is legal to serve."

Alex cautiously took a bite of his own meal, and merely shrugged, "I don't know. It's not that bad really. Better than what they served at my old school anyway."

Jack just looked back at Alex, a little wide eyed, and said, "Where the hell did you go to school?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After classes ended, the students had two hours of dorm time before dinner. Of course, Jack managed to drag Alex out of their room and out onto the grass area inbetween the dorm buildings where Zack, Patrick, Pete, and Robert were already gathered.

"Fuck you, Zack," Pete was saying from where he was lying on the ground, head laying in Patrick's lap, the blonde haired boy looking fairly annoyed, "You know the eyeliner makes me look even more badass."

With a shrug, Zack replied, "I also know that its the reason you get beat up so often."

Propping himself up on his elbows, Pete responded with a death stare, "I repeat: fuck you."

Alex sat down next to Robert as Pete flopped down back onto Patrick, turning on his side so Zack wasn't in his line of vision. Patrick put a hand on Pete's back, and glared at Zack looking extremely protective.

Zack looked over at Jack, who had sat down next to Alex, looking slightly desperate, and Jack just shrugged.

Alex coughed, a little bit awkwardly, and then turned to Robert, asking, "So, how was your first ever day of high school?"

Robert looked at Alex, seemingly surprised of being spoken to, but responded anyway, "Pretty shit if I'm being honest."

Alex nodded knowingly and replied, "Well, that's high school for you."

"So it doesn't get any better?" the brown haired boy asked, looking fairly worried.

Alex smiled sympathetically at the freshman and answered, "The classes sure as hell don't, if I'm being straight up. But you'll get through it if you've got good friends." Alex glanced around at the group, saw Pete continuing to pout on Patrick's lap and Patrick, Zack, and Jack in a very animated discussion (probably about music), and continued, "And it looks like we've both already got some."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! So, I really did try to write this quickly, and I think I (kind of) succeeded. Hopefully the next chapter will be written even quicker and probably better! Also, I apologize for any crappiness in this update, a lot of shit has been going down in my personal life (please don't ask). And please excuse spelling/grammar mistakes, I wrote a good chunk of this on my phone.


	7. I've Got the Mic and You've Got the Moshpit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A.K.A "The Party Song"

"Fuck off, Alex" Jack groaned as he chucked a pillow at his roommate who was sitting cross-legged against the wall opposite the brunette's bunk.

"Come on," Alex whined back, "You have to come. Zack said that some boys from town are coming, and they're supposed to be super cool. Plus, Pete and Patrick's new band is gonna play. You can't miss their first first gig."

The second week of school had just ended, and Zack was having a back to school party in his dorm's common space (how they weren't going to get busted by teachers and preps, Alex had no idea, but he was pretty sure Zack paid them all off). Honestly, Alex wasn't much of a partier himself, but he had been told that there would be booze and cute boys, so he figured that he might as well take his chances and go. He had really been hoping Jack would go with him though, if only so he didn't wind up sitting in a corner alone. Alex had some social issues, which was probably the main reason he wasn't much of a partier.

Jack sighed deeply as he rolled onto his back and replied, "Dude, I fucking told you I'm not going. I'm exhausted, I have to write three pages for Mr. Sykes's class, and my nose feels like its constipated. I wouldn't go to a party tonight if fuckin' Green Day was playing."

Alex rolled his eyes before responding, "You're no fun, Jack. Its the first party of the year, and you're gonna stay in your room and write a British history paper."

"And I'm gonna pass the class," Jack retorted, "And anyway, I'm the funnest person you've ever met. Just not when I'm sick.

"Whatever," Alex sighed as he got up and walked over to the full-length mirror that hung on the wall next to the door, checking his fringe and surveying his outfit, torn jeans, a worn out Sublime shirt, and scuffed up checkered Vans, one last time, deciding at the last minute to tie a bandana around his neck. "I'll just go hang out with all the cool kids," Alex continued with a slight smirk as he turned back around to face Jack, who was lying face down on Alex's bed (he had complained that getting into the top bunk was too much effort).

"Again," Jack replied, voice muffled by the pillow, "I'm the coolest motherfucker you've ever met in your entire life."

Alex chuckled as he walked towards the door, and as he left the room, he called over his shoulder, "Definitely."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The party was going exactly as Alex had feared. After initial greetings and introductions to the kids from town (Frank, Gerard, Bert, Jesse, William, Brendon, and Ryan), Alex had retreated to a corner with just a bottle of beer for company. No one really tried to talk to him, and if he was being honest, he didn't blame them. He was the new, awkward kid, and they had all known each other for at least a year. He probably would've ignored him too if the situation was reversed.

Alex felt a slight tap on his shoulder and jumped a little bit in surprise. Turning his head, Alex saw the freshman, Robert, standing beside him.

"Sorry," the younger boy muttered, ducking his head and hiding behind his bangs, "I didn't mean to startle you. You just looked kind of lonely, I guess."

Alex smiled at the teen's awkwardness and said, "Its okay, dude. I just wasn't expecting it. I was lonely though, you got that much right."

Robert peeked back up at Alex through his brown hair and said, "Why aren't you talking to anyone, anyway? Everyone here likes you, and you seem like a pretty social person to me."

Alex shrugged, looking around the room. "I guess I just get shy sometimes," he replied as he surveyed the kids around him, talking and laughing, "I mean, it'd be better if all these other guys weren't here and it was just us, Zack, Pete, and Pat. I just can't get comfortable around new people easily."

Robert nodded, "I know what you mean. I always feel kind of useless in conversations, y'know? Like I have nothing interesting to contribute."

Alex looked back at the freshman then and said, "I get that too. But honestly, you're a pretty interesting person in my opinion."

Robert smiled a little at that and replied, "Thanks."

Alex grinned back and then took a drag from his beer bottle before looking across the room to where Pete and Patrick were setting up a makeshift stage. "It looks like the band is gonna start soon," he commented, watching as Pete kicked over a mic stand and nearly knocked Patrick off the platform.

"They're gonna be awesome" Robert sighed, "Have you ever heard Pat play guitar? I swear, he's like Jesus with six strings."

Alex chuckled and set his beer down on the ground as Patrick stepped up to the microphone and gave it a quick tap to make sure that it was on. To Alex's surprise, he stepped back almost immediately and let Pete take the mic.

"Since Patty here is shy," Pete said into the microphone, smirking playfully at the already blushing Patrick, "I'm here to say that we are Fall Out Boy, and welcome to our first ever gig. You're about to witness history, boys."

Everyone in the room cheered collectively, raising their drinks above their head. Patrick walked back up to the mic and muttered, "This one's called Honorable Mention," and then launched into the song, singing and playing guitar as Pete hammered his bass and the two town kids, Joe and Mike, played their guitar and drums.

"I served out my detention, and in the end I got an honorable mention..." Patrick sang, surprisingly quietly in contrast with the instrumental chaos happening in the background.

Alex turned back to Robert, who was still standing in the corner with a look of amazement on his face as he watched the performance, and held out a hand, saying, "May I have this dance?"

Robert smiled largely at Alex then, and nodded, walking up to the older boy and taking his hand. "Quick warning," he said once he got next to the blonde, "I have no idea how to dance."

Alex laughed and replied, "That's okay. Neither do I."

They quicly made their way over to the group of friends and Zack turned to Alex and said, "Hey, look who's finally decided to socialize. I was about to go and drag you over here."

Alex replied with a, "Fuck off, Merrick," but he laughed as he did so. He didn't know what had changed his mood around so quickly, but it was probably the music. Shows always made him unreasonably happy.

Suddenly, Brendon yelled, "Open up this pit," and then ran into the newly formed opening with Ryan as they started swinging each other around, ring-around-the-rosie style.

Alex grabbed Robert's arm and pulled him into the 'pit' as well, and they started bumping off each other like idiots. Somehow everyone else joined in, and they had formed the most pathetic, but also most fun, moshpit of the century.

"I can be your John Cusack," Patrick sang, smiling now as he looked down at his idiot friends.

The song ended, and the group stopped to catch their breath, high fiving each other and cheering for the band. Alex wrapped Robert up in a huge hug and said, "Now, wasn't that fun."

The freshman nodded against the sophomore's shoulder and replied, "Fuck yeah."

Alex gasped, "I've never heard you swear before. I think you're gonna need to go pray for forgiveness for at least an hour now."

Robert just laughed in response, and that was the first time Alex heard his laugh, his real, unafraid laugh. He liked it.

"Okay, everyone," Pete called from the microphone, "That was good, but lets make this one even better. I like to call this one, 'Pretty in Punk'"

"Walking off the stage tonight..." Patrick started to sing, and the group started acting like idiots again.

Somehow, Frank had gotten on top of the platform and, ignoring Gerard yelling at him to get down and that he wasn't going to help if he broke his leg again, yelled, "Stage dive!" He was damn lucky Zack was a football player, because he was definitely the only one capable of catching Frank.

Alex looked to his left again and saw that Robert was laughing again, happiness all over his face, which made Alex happy too. The younger teen was always so reserved, always afraid to show his emotions, always so shy about everything and Alex was glad to see him genuinely happy.

Suddenly, Alex wrapped his arms around Robert's waist, and lifted the brunette up and called out, "Crowdsurf!", in response to which everyone gathered around and took Robert and carried him up to the stage on his back.

"I'm not the way you think I am, no," Patrick sang as Robert landed on the stage, looking slightly frightened but still happy. He looked into the crowd, and Zack nodded at him, making the freshman jump off the stage and nearly knock the football player over.

Alex laughed way too hard watching his friends struggle to right themselves, and in that moment he really was surrounded by the coolest people he had ever met.

Robert came stumbling back over to Alex, getting clapped on the back by William, Bert, and Jesse on the way over, and practically collapsed on the blonde in a fit of giggles. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever done," he laughed.

"And also probably one of the funnest," Alex replied, wrapping one arm around the brown haired boy.

Just then, Patrick finished singing the final, "I'm not the way you think I am, no," of the song, and Pete walked back up to the microphone to shout, "You guys are the craziest motherfuckers I've ever seen, and I love all of you."

Alex laughed again and then raised his (now warm) beer above his head, and yelled, "To being alive!"

As everyone else cheered in response, Alex looked down at Robert and smiled. That freckled spattered face and those brown eyes grinned back up at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! So here's the new update, I was gonna make it longer but I really wanted to post something. And yeah, sorry that Jack really isn't in this chapter at all, I just really needed to focus on developing other things, it'll make sense later, I promise. Also, in case you were wondering, William is William Beckett from The Academy Is... and Jesse is Jesse Lacey from Brand New. I think the others are pretty much universally known. So yeah, hopefully the next chapter will be up in a week or so :)


	8. Soco Amaretto Lime

Alex woke up the next day lying on his back on the common room floor, Robert using his chest as pillow, which made the older teen smile to himself. He had to admit that the freshman was beautiful in his own way, especially right now with sleep-tousled hair and a peaceful face.

Propping himself up on his elbows, carefully, so as to not disturb the sleeping boy, Alex looked around the room at the other passed out bodies. William and Jesse had taken the only two couches in the room, leaving the rest on the floor. Pete and Patrick were curled up together in a corner, and if Alex hadn't known any better, he would've taken them for a couple. Ryan and Brendon were in another spot laying on top of each other, and Gerard was sleeping in the center of the room with Frank on one side of him and Bert on the other side. Alex couldn't see Zack, so he supposed that he had gone back to his room to sleep on a bed instead of the floor.

Alex felt something shifting on his chest and looked down to see Robert blearily looking up at him with sleep clouded eyes. "Good morning," Alex said quietly, smiling at the younger boy.

"What time is it?" Robert yawned, running a hand across his face, seemingly trying to wipe away the sleep.

Alex brought his hand up and looked at the cheap, plastic watch circling his wrist, glancing at the numbers on the small display. "Almost eleven," he replied.

"Too fucking early," Robert muttered, resting his head back against Alex's chest.

"Again with the swearing," Alex chuckled as he laid back down.

"You swear all the time," Robert murmured, as he adjusted himself on Alex, trying to get comfortable.

"But that's different," Alex contended, moving his arm to behind his head, using it as a pillow, "I'm old and shit, and you're all innocent."

"You're barely a year older than me," Robert replied, looking up at Alex's face again, "And I'm not nearly as innocent as you seem to think I am."

"That's true," Alex conceded, but then continued, "But its just that you've been so quiet the whole time I've known you, and last night you really came out of your shell. I mean don't get me wrong, its great, you're an awesome fucking person and I like that you're talking more, but its just that I'm not used to you being so...unnervous, I guess would be the word."

Robert shrugged noncommittally and responded, "I don't know, I guess I'm finally starting to feel more comfortable around you and Zack and last night, everything just seemed so great that I didn't think I had to be afraid of embarrassing myself. I don't know if that makes sense, but its just that I have to like, get really used to a person before I can start talking casually with them, like what we're doing right now, without having to force it."

"I used to be like that," Alex said, looking up towards the ceiling, "I was so scared that everyone hated me that I wouldn't talk to anyone. I had really bad social anxiety and sometimes I'd get panic attacks if I was pushed into social situations. It still happens honestly, but not as much and I'm better at controlling it, but I get what you're saying. It took my best friend, Rian, all of fifth grade to get me to talk to him. I still don't understand why he was so determined to be friends with me."

"Well, maybe he could tell that you're an epic dude," Robert said, smiling at the older teen, "Because you are."

"Thanks, man," Alex smiled, then sat up when he heard one of the couches creaking. He looked over to see William sitting up, pushing his fringe out of his face.

"What fucking time is it?" William called over to Alex.

"Eleven ten," Alex called back, glancing down at his watch to verify this information.

"Shit," William muttered, then said, louder, "I gotta get home, tell the other guys I said bye."

Alex nodded, and watched as the older boy made his way towards the door. As he got to the door, William glanced over his shoulder at the other two and said, "By the way, you two are really cute together," which made Robert blush which made Alex laugh.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alex flopped down across his bed after he walked back in his room, having been kicked out by Zack after he woke up. "You missed one hell of a party," the blonde called over to his roommate, who was sitting at his desk, researching some queen for his British history class.

"I heard," Jack replied, not even bothering to look at the other boy, "Pete already texted me chewing me out for not going."

"They were so good, man," Alex sighed, "I had no idea that Patrick could sing like that. And it got fucking crazy. Robert even crowdsurfed."

At that, Jack did turn around, a look of surprise on his face. "Freshman Robert?" he questioned doubtfully, "Almost never talks Robert? He crowdsurfed?"

Alex propped himself up on his elbows to grin at the brown haired teen and replied, "Hell yeah, man. He really let himself go last night. It was actually kind of awesome."

Jack smiled a little bit too and responded, "Well, I'm happy. That kid is way too uptight."

Alex laughed and then asked, "So what are you doing today? Working on your paper?"

Jack sighed and looked back at his laptop briefly before slamming it shut. "If I look at one more royal family tree," he said, turning back to Alex, "I think I might kill myself."

"Good," Alex smiled, "Because I want to go into town. Zack says there's a pretty cool mall, and I want to check it out."

Jack shrugged and replied, "It's okay, I guess. There's a pretty rad record shop and a Hot Topic, but that's pretty much it."

"Still better than sitting around here all day," the blond responded, getting up off his bed and walking over to Jack's desk to tug on the younger teen's arm, "Now come on, the bus is going to leave soon."

Jack rolled his eyes and stood up saying, "I just can't say no to you, baby."

Alex responded by batting his eyes and saying, "You know it," and then nearly collapsing in a fit of giggles.

"How did I wind up with such an idiot for a roommate," Jack muttered, shaking his head.

"Oh, you know you love me, Jacky-poo," Alex smirked back, leaning against the taller boy.

"Never call me that again," was the only thing Jack said in response as he moved away from Alex and walked out of the door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Jack, come here," Alex called across Hot Topic from where he was standing in front of the vinyl display.

"What?" the brunette asked as he walked towards his roommate.

In lieu of responding, Alex just turned around and thrust a record, Enema of the State, in Jack's face, grinning widely.

Jack sighed and said, "You don't even have a record player, Alex."

Alex pouted back and replied, "That's not the point, Jack. It's like, the principle of it or whatever. And anyway, my parents might get me one for Christmas."

"So you're going to spend twenty dollars on something for 'the principle of it'?" Jack questioned, raising his eyebrows a bit.

"Well, when you put it like that," Alex huffed, followed by a muttered, "fucking killjoy" as he turned to put the record back in the stand.

Jack rolled his eyes, "You're so fucking sensitive. You're like a delicate flower or some shit."

"At least that means I smell good," Alex retorted, smirking, "Unlike some people."

"Hey, I smell perfectly fine, Gaskarth," Jack replied, a look of mock hurt on his face.

"Whatever, Barakat," Alex smiled back before picking up the record again, "Now loan me five bucks cause I really want this principle."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all. So here's the new update, which has actually been on Wattpad for a bit, but I've too lazy to repost it here oops. Anyway, I might not publish again until late July/August because I'm doing NaNoWriMo Camp, so that's probably going to take up most of my writing time. Thank you for reading!


	9. Let the Rest Come Easy

Alex collapsed onto his bed, pulling his phone out of his back pocket as he did so. "Hey, man," he typed out, sending the quick text to Rian as Jack walked through the door behind him.

"Dude," the brown hair teen sighed as he flopped onto Alex's bed as well, landing almost on top of the blonde, "I fucking hate Mr. Briggs. The dude thinks he knows everything, he's the most stuck up prick of a science teacher I've ever met."

"Couldn't have been as bad as my last class," Alex replied, keeping his eyes on his phone screen, "I was just stuck in religion with the Mullins and Quinn posse." Matty Mullins had been the leader of the group of bullies who had confronted Alex on his first day at school, and Kellin Quinn was basically his right hand man. Alex hadn't exactly been thrilled when they walked into his religion class, to say the least.

"I'm telling you to just talk to Zack," Jack said, turning his head to look at Alex, "He'll straighten them out for you. I promise they won't bother you again after that."  
A reply from Rian flashed on Alex's cell as he sighed, "I don't need him to fight my battles for me. And anyway, it's not like they've tried to actually, physically hurt me. It's all just spitballs and muttered name calling. I can deal with that shit."

"Whatever you say man," Jack said as he sat up, raising his hands above his head in surrender, "But if they try anything, if Zack doesn't kill them, I will."  
"You're my knight in shining armor," Alex faux swooned, as he told Rian exactly what was up.

"Damn right I am," Jack said as he got up and walked over to his desk where he had dumped his school bag. "Are you doing anything tonight?" he continued, as he pulled books out of his bag and laid them out on the table, "Because if you're not, please feel free to watch me murder myself over this math homework."

"As fun as that sounds," Alex laughed, sitting up in bed, "I was actually going to go over to Robert's dorm and give him a music education." In response to an arched eyebrow for Jack, Alex continued, "I mean, he knows the basics of Blink and Green Day, but he's never even heard of Sublime. Sublime, dude. That's like, first grade shit right there. I need to teach him the ways. It's for his own good."

"Or your good," Jack muttered almost inaudibly. Alex still picked it up though, and automatically responded with a mildly indignant, "What?"

Jack sighed and replied, "Dude, it's so obvious you've got a crush on that kid. You're practically tied at the hip and you were giving each other these doe eyes at lunch today. I think Pete may have puked a little actually. Like, you guys outgayed Pete. I wasn't sure that was possible."

"Okay dude, that is not true," Alex said back in a voice that was maybe a bit angrier than was completely necessary as he crossed his arms over his chest, "I like him, yeah, but as a good friend. That's it. I don't even think he likes boys anyway."

"Keep telling yourself that," Jack replied, and Alex couldn't help but notice how...not sad, but something very close he looked, "Maybe one day you'll believe it."

"What's wrong with you, man?" Alex asked, now with concern lacing his voice, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah man," Jack said, smiling a little, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, "Just a little tired."

"Okay," Alex said, doubt painted across his entire face, "If you're sure you're good, I'm gonna go over to Robert's. I'll see you at dinner."

"See ya man," Jack replied, giving a half-hearted wave, pretending to be far too engrossed in his homework to bother looking up.

When the door swung shut behind Alex, Jack groaned in frustration and leaned back in his chair, running a thing hand across his face. "Dammit," he muttered. He really shouldn't be jealous, he knew that, but this stupid crush on his stupid roommate had happened despite his efforts to stop it, and now he couldn't get rid of it.  
Of course, Jack would do what he had always done when he got himself into situations like this: pretend it wasn't happening. The only problem was, he wasn't sure if he could do that. Because Alex was the kind of person he knew he could fall in love with. He didn't love the blond yet, but he knew that he could. He was smart, loved music, loved friends, could sing and play guitar, was funny as hell while not being a total asshole, and he had a smile so bright it made everything else seem black. And Jesus, Jack really was a 12 year old girl, wasn't he?

"Oh well," Jack sighed, leaning back over his algebra homework.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"What's up, nerd," Alex called as he strode into Robert's dorm room (Zack was out, probably snuck off campus to a destination yet unknown).

"I could totally report you to Ragini for name calling," the younger boy said back, grinning from his seat on the lower bunk as he did so.

"You could," Alex reasoned, "But that would make you even more of a nerd. Only nerds tattle."

"Shut up," Robert laughed as he threw a pillow at Alex.

"Oh, you know you love me," Alex aid as he threw himself at Robert, tackling the freshman so they were both lying down on the bed, Alex on top.

"True," Robert replied, his voice a little breathless and his cheeks suddenly tinged with pink.

Alex, of course, noticed this slight change in the freshman, but didn't say anything. "Alright," he said, rolling off of Robert and onto his back pulling his phone out of his jeans pocket, "First off, you need to know about the Ramones..."

The rest of the afternoon passed like that, Alex playing all of his favorite bands and just watching for the younger boy's reaction, and Robert being a little bit dumbfounded by a world of music he was quickly realizing he had barely explored.

Somehow, they ended up with Robert laying with his head in Alex's lap and Alex leaning against Robert's way-too-many pillows. Alex was combing his fingers slowly through Robert's hair as he narrated the song that was playing. "Jimmy Eat World, man," he sighed, "These guys are the ones you have to blame for the whole emo explosion that's going on, I swear to god that they're gonna be the death of pop punk. Probably would've killed it already if it weren't for New Found Glory and Sum 41."

"Pop punk's never gonna die, man," Robert said, opening his eyes a little to look up at the blonde.

Alex smiled back and replied, "I sure hope so, dude. I don't think I can live in a world without Blink copycats."

Robert just laughed in reply and then turned his face away, nuzzling into Alex's legs, murmuring, " 'm tired."

Alex smiled and said, "It's not even dinner time yet, man. How the hell are you tired?"

"Did a lot of exercise," Robert muttered, "I had a long gym period today."

"Still," Alex said, but he didn't push the issue any further, instead continuing, "Hey, has anyone told you that you look really adorable when you're sleepy."

"You could stand to mention it more," Robert smirked up at Alex.

Right then, as Alex looked down at Robert, he realized that the freshman really was one of the most beautiful people he had ever met. So he did something he knew he would regret in the morning. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Robert's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So I'm back from the dead! Sorry, I've had a lot of stuff going on, like starting my junior year of high school and dealing with a lot of relationship issues. Also, please, please, please don't hate me for this chapter. I promise it will all make a lot more sense soon! I've actually got this shit plotted out for once, so please just hang in there and I swear all of your Jalex dreams will come true. I just gotta go through my far too complicated plot line first. Anyway, please comment and vote and I'll try to finish the next chapter by next Saturday!


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